stood side by side, and Legon could tell who was who right away. The one on the right had greasy hair and a bent nose that looked to have been broken on several occasions. This man was the collector; it was his job to secure payment. His deep blue robes were slightly disheveled, showing the slightly physical part of his job. The other man’s robes looked brand new. He was shorter than the first and had a round face. It looked like he took the time to part each hair on its own every morning. This man was the appraiser. The collector spoke first. His voice also sounded greasy and unclean.
“Edis I take it? We are here for your quarterly appraisal.”
Edis spoke. “Oh, I wasn’t expecting you for a week or so…”
The appraiser cut across him calmly. “Sorry, do forgive us, we are running a bit ahead of schedule. If you are not ready for us we could come by tomorrow.” There could not be more of a difference in the two men, as Legon knew. He liked the appraisers for the most part; they had the personality of bricks, but they were a lot more polite.
The collector looked scandalized. “I have things to do, Harper. This is only a quarterly, anyhow. Do you really need to look at their books and all that stuff?”
Harper looked irritated. “Fine, but we have more to cover this time than normal.” He pulled a piece of parchment from a shoulder bag. “This says here that you have a son coming of age this year?”
“Yes, my boy Legon here,” he said as he patted Legon’s arm.
Harper went on. “Very well. We have a bit of paperwork then. May we sit down somewhere?”
Edis took them into the house and with the rest of the family sat at the table. Laura looked flustered at the unexpected visit.
“I have records of treatments, if you would like. It shouldn’t take me long to get them.”
The collector, who still hadn’t introduced himself, spoke. “Won’t be necessary. Harper here has agreed to the short version.”
Harper took out a large stack of paper. “In years past there has been no denying your ability to pay for your daughter…,” he paused, looking at the sheets, “…Sasha. This year it is unlikely that you will be able to pay for her and your son, so I have some paperwork to do with her.”
A very unnatural silence filled the room and the appraiser looked up at Sasha. “May I ask you a few questions?”
“What for?” she asked
“Because you are going into the queen’s care girl, that’s why,” said the collector, taking Sasha in with hungry eyes.
“But I … I thought we had until….”
Harper interrupted. “You are not going now, and your family may have enough for you this year. This paperwork is just a precaution so that when you go into the care, or I should say if you do, it saves time.”
Without another word Harper started in on the paperwork, asking Sasha everything from how tall she was to what she could do. During the entire interview Laura and Edis sat in stunned silence. Finally the interview was done.
“Thank you, miss.”
“So what does this mean?” Sasha asked.
The collector spoke. “What do you mean? You say here that you have been turned down for an apprentice healer’s license because of your affliction, and being a good cook isn’t much of a skill now is it? You will most likely go into a service field.”
“Service?” asked Edis for the first time.
“Maid, cook, farmhand, escort, things of that nature,” said the collector coldly.
Sasha blanched at the last one on the list. Edis’s face glowed with sweat.
“Well, we have taken up a lot of your time today. Thank you for the help, and we will see you in January,” Harper spoke, and he got up.
The collector followed him but turned back to face Sasha at the door. “Dear, I would not think to leave if I were you. We will find you if you try, and I can promise you, you will not like that. I will be the one to collect in January, and I look forward…” he paused as his eyes looked Sasha over again, “…look forward to getting better acquainted at that time.” The door clicked shut.
There wasn’t much talking after that, and Sasha went up to her room. Legon followed, wanting to see if she was ok. He poked his head in the doorway. Sasha was sitting on the bed with her arms